Former dictator Pinochet stripped of immunity by Chilean court
The 88-year-old general, is also facing increased scrutiny after recent revelations of his multi-million dollar accounts in the US.
The Supreme Court ruling was the latest of dozens of human rights abuse cases working their way through the courts accusing Pinochet of using his secret police and military to kidnap, torture and kill left-wing opponents.
It is the second time in recent years the Supreme Court has stripped Pinochet of is immunity, but his legal team has repeatedly argued that he is physically and mentally unfit to stand trial.
Lawyers had presented new evidence suggesting Pinochet was fit to stand trial. The evidence included a 2003 TV interview in which he appeared lucid, holding a cane and calmly answered questions about his regime.
He told the Miami-based Spanish language station he was not repentant, calling himself a “good angel” and blaming subordinates for any excesses.
Pinochet was president from 1973 to 1990. He took power in a bloody September 1973 coup that toppled elected left-wing president Salvador Allende. Family and followers of Allende said he committed suicide in his burning presidential palace, after it had come under bombardment.
The civilian government that succeeded Pinochet said 3,197 died or disappeared during his 17-year regime.
A 2002 report by court-appointed doctors stated that Pinochet has a mild case of dementia. He uses a pacemaker, suffers from diabetes and arthritis, and has had at least three mild strokes since 1998.
Arrested in London in 1998, he was held there for 16 months while courts decided whether he could be extradited to Spain. Britain eventually allowed him to return to Chile, ruling he was unfit to stand trial.
Public opinion has shifted in Chile in recent weeks after a US investigation identified accounts said to be in his name at the Washington-based Riggs Bank with deposits ranging from four to eight million dollars.
